Love Begins After Death
by Mortal Anonymous
Summary: Damien has had what's felt like countless seasons to let his regrets sink in. He's had just as many to keep half an eye out for the boy he'd discarded too easily. Where he ends up finally meeting him again was the last place he could have expected, but now he's determined to not screw it up again.


Damien, son of Satan, dressed plainly in a black long-sleeved sweater and matching slacks, meandered bored through the pits of Hell. His home, the Seventh Circle, was providing little reprieve from the dullness he'd sought to escape on the surface. It seemed as though his life had devolved into little more than this loop of tedium, hopping back and forth between realms when each got their turn being sick of being looked at. He was very much alone these days, and had been for what felt like years.

However long it had been, it was plenty of time to get bored.

It was plenty of time to think.

He'd just kicked a chunk of brimstone into the river of blood and fire filled with the souls of the damned, clocking one of them square between the eyes by sheer chance but not reacting as it writhed and sank below the surface, when some other motion attracted his attention. Down one of the many reddened cave tunnels, a group was exiting one of the staff rooms through a plain office door.

It was the usual make-up of fiends and villains one could expect to see down here, but it was headed by a small flying figure with tiny, albeit distinctly white, wings and a golden halo.

This wasn't unusual either. Angels were always coming down here to spread charity and good will and give souls opportunity for redemption. Damien let a disinterested note escape his nose before turning away. He didn't care about any of that boring old 'Mission from God' work.

Then he heard the angel speak.

"Right-o, everyone! I think that was a brilliant effort for today's session! Caligula, I think we're making excellent progress on that paranoid slaughtering habit. Maybe soon we can even get you moved up to the Second Circle, and then all you'll have to worry about is learning to stop trying to molest me!"

Damien's spine straightened, something it didn't do much of anymore, and he had to double-take.

That voice...that perky, high-pitched, British voice...it couldn't be.

Now bothering to note the angel's appearance, he felt his mouth dropping open as he actually recognized the blonde boy his age – Pip – from school.

It had been so long, but even as brief as their time on Earth had been together, of course Damien recognized that boy. He'd had some regrets about that boy, especially after the way things had been left, and the way things had turned out for the Prince of Darkness himself. Damien had thought of many things he would have liked to say to that boy, the one he'd spent the most time with. The one who had been kind to him. But he'd also never have expected to see him _here_.

While he gawped, Pip finished waving off his therapy group with a happy smile as they slogged back into their home in the depths of this Hell river. Then the fluttering little haloed boy turned to go his own way, which happened to be Damien's way, and his own face fell into stun.

"Damien..? Oh, goodness me!"

Pip's stun lasted a mere second compared to the Dark Prince still standing agape, and with a bright beam forming the angelic one flitted over to land himself directly in front of the boy in black.

"Hello!" Pip chirped, tipping his brown newsie cap politely, "Damien, do you remember me? It's Phillip! We were school chums at one point! You gave me a right roasting as well by the end of it."

That memory was enough to jerk Damien out of his stupor. Crushing his eyes shut and gritting his teeth, he shook his head to rid himself of its nagging weight and instead addressed, "Of _course _I remember you, Pip! But what are you doing down _here?!_" He hadn't killed the other when igniting him!

The blonde's smile shrank slightly to hear himself addressed by the nickname he'd never been terribly fond of, but it had stuck, so he didn't put much thought into it. Instead he chuckled through the distaste and answered, "Well, I must have died, now, haven't I, silly-billy?"

He got a slack-jawed blink of perplex, like Damien just couldn't believe he was being so casual and coy. To that Pip simply went on, "Indeed! A bit of failed diplomacy, I'm afraid. The town was under attack, as it happens, you know, and I did try ever so hard to politely convince Ms. Mecha-Streisand to cease her rampage, but I'm afraid she was having none of it. Stomped me flat without even giving me the time of day. Quite rude, really."

Shaking his head in disapproval there, he then perked, "But on the bright side, I'm getting a lot more practice with such things now! You might have gathered that I was with that group of gents just now? Well, they're my current therapy group! I'm their counselor. Dare I say, old Mr. Mackey could learn a thing or two from _me _now, haha..!" The tone was light-hearted, but he did harbor a small bit of resentment towards the South Park Elementary counselor for teaching him to essentially lie down and take the endless bullying from other children. Yes, Pip was naturally kind and polite on his own, but Mr. Mackey had given him advice to take passiveness to extremes without even seeing the bullying in action, and before Pip had known it he had irreversibly become the butt monkey of the entire town. Even Damien, the new kid and only one who had ever been his friend – sort of – had ended up using him in the end.

That was all water under the bridge, however. Pip did not like to hold grudges, and anyway, he was used to such treatment. It was universal.

"Haha..." Damien echoed unsurely. He'd been to Mr. Mackey at one point on Pip's advice, and as well knew that counselor had been full of shit. Maybe Pip had hoped he'd have another kid end up like him, but more than likely had still been in denial back then and truly had wished to help Damien become well-adjusted.

"Yes, I'm rather sure God saw the irony of it when he sent me down here," Pip nodded, "Better myself and others through what ruined me, and all that. Though I'm also rather sure he just likes having me out of Heaven. It _was _less of a send-off and more of a hearty boot off Cloud Nine. I've been down here basically since I died, you see."

Damien blinked. Really? How had he missed this, then? "Wh-When did you die again?" he found himself asking.

"Oh, _ages_ ago..!" Pip flipped his wrist. "Goodness me, it seems like our old school chums have had countless adventures since Ms. Mecha-Streisand came to visit. Becoming leaders of Mexico, developing national sports, being assigned boyfriends by the Japanese...I do pop up from time to time to see what's been happening."

Damien blinked again. "Uh, yes, I've seen it," he admitted, "I've...been up there too. Actually I...I've been hoping I'd spot _you _at some point. I had no idea you'd gone to Hell."

Pip was visibly surprised by this news. "Oh really! Me? Whatever for?"

A little more context was needed, Damien felt, and he tried to explain himself better after a soft clear of his throat. He might as well bite the bullet and go for it now that Pip had stumbled into him. "Well, when I first followed my father out of South Park, I found out the hard way that he actually...didn't need me anymore. _He _was going to be on the move this time, but well, I'd served my purpose, he said. I was born by immaculate conception to foretell his coming to the surface world and strike fear into the heart of Christ. But since I'd done that...I was kind of no longer a part of Satan's plan."

Pip's head tilted curiously, a sympathetic smile on his face as he wondered about the point here.

Damien looked down. "At first, I was overjoyed. I'd always hated just being my father's pawn, and this meant I could spend time with all the friends I'd just made." A beat as he guiltily remembered _how _he'd made those friends – maiming Pip. "But it seems children are quick to forget," he lamented, "I may have won their favor with a flashy display of power, but upon my return they had no reaction at all! I tried recreating my feat, but all it seemed to do was make them call me an asshole this time! I even lashed out again, but my miracles were still only met with snub and dismissiveness. They had all changed so much so quickly, and saw through my tantrums. I realized...buying friendship had gotten me nothing in the end. It didn't last. Everyone had already seen all I could do and gotten bored with me. So then I got...lonely."

He glanced up and Pip very briefly before glancing away again. Damn those precious doe eyes, he could feel them radiating care from here. They made it very hard to speak, but at the same time it felt good to get this off one's chest, no matter how sudden it all was. Damien had been _waiting _for this; he shouldn't feel so reluctant! And unfortunately damning Pip would land him right back where he was standing anyway.

"You know there's goth kids now? _They _even called _me _a poser!" Damien yarned, "The Son of Darkness! _I'm _not edgy enough to join their stupid club!" A disgruntled sound as he remembered the one crowd he thought he'd mesh with telling him his taste in clothes and music was too 'vanilla wannabe', whatever that meant. "Those idiots don't know what it _means _to embrace the darkness! Well, anyway, I became another face in the crowd. Just a kid at school you might recognize if you spotted me. But then that's also when I started thinking of you."

It was Pip's turn to blink, but he kept his smile and touched his chest lightly. "Of me? Why, Damien, that's very sweet of you." He hadn't thought anyone was thinking of him at all, even a little bit, so hearing just one bit of sentiment was out there for him, even if it had been brief, was heartwarming.

Damien crushed his eyes shut as another small grunt left his nose. He felt his face warm over the embarrassment of being called sweet and his own remorse. "Yes, well...you were the one mortal I spent any significant time with. It was probably inevitable. But the way I was feeling, so isolated and looked down on, I just sort of thought all at once that that was probably how you'd felt before I came along. That you'd wanted to make a good impression yourself and were also trying desperately to cling to some sort of social connection. But then I'd noticed as well that I hadn't...seen you since my return."

Pip's sorry smile widened. "Well, the school did expand quite a bit," he noted, "I'm afraid I wasn't aware of your arrival at all. If I had been, I wouldn't have thought you were looking for my companionship, though." Reuniting in a setting such as this, away from peers and after such a long time was one thing, but when Damien's return was fresh and they were surrounded by better social options? Pip could read a room better than to expect Damien would want anything to do with him. The boy had been set on being widely accepted, after all.

"I...yes, well, I wasn't at first," the Dark One shrugged, "But after experiencing the harsh cruelty of social isolation, I also realized what I'd been guilty of myself. I...I didn't like it. And I've had plenty of time to think about it, going to movies or torturing lost souls...everything just starts to look the same when you're truly alone."

The softest sigh, this time empathetic, came from the still-smiling Pip. "It does, doesn't it?"

That tiny sentence resonated in Damien's core. He felt a rattling chill of guilt, regret and a desire to remedy his wrongs. He also ignored the sharp sting that had come behind his eyes.

"Yes. I began looking for you when I was up there," he admitted quietly, "But I never saw you. I never would have thought to look for you here. I've had so much time to think about the way I treated you. You were the one mortal who treated me as I'd have liked, and I burned you. I literally turned you into a firework. That was stupid and short-sighted and I was insecure and behaved immaturely."

Coming forward, Damien took the other boy's hand in both of his and looked to the side, stubbornly furrowing his brow to prevent himself from being too emotional. He'd thought about doing this so many times, and here was his opportunity. He knew he shouldn't waste it.

"I just wanted to say...I'm...sorry."

It was choked as he struggled to spit the apology out, but he managed to say it.

A soft gasp came from Pip, his free hand coming to cover his lips now as tears welled freely in the rims of his eyes. Then that hand slipped down to his heart.

"Oh, Damien..! That is literally the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me..!"

It had felt so freeing to Damien to get those words out, but that was fleeting as it was immediately replaced with nerves about Pip's reaction, followed by discomfort as the boy with the bob cut openly teared up and started sniffling.

Immediately Damien let the other's hand go an held both of his up, stepping back a bit. Clearly he didn't know how to react.

Wiping his eyes in a hurry, Pip attempted to get his emotional swell under control. "Oh! I'm sorry, it's just...it's true, you know? Oh! I don't mean to..! Oh!"

Damien watched the boy struggle, feeling his shoulders sag after a moment, a new feeling forming in the pit of his stomach – pity. He truly felt bad for Pip if one simple 'I'm sorry' got this extreme a reaction. "S-Seriously..?" he had to question, "No one's ever apologized to you before..?"

Curbing his sniffles enough to speak, Pip shook his head. "No..! Before now, the closest was probably that time I was bumped into and then told 'pardon _you_' before being shoved into a nearby mud puddle. I...I never realized just how badly I was missing basic human compassion until just now. It means a lot, Damien. Thank you."

Pip had plenty of experience shrugging off harsh behavior and carrying his personal burdens, but to have someone actually acknowledge they'd wronged him and outright try to atone for it...that was astounding to the little British boy. Particularly on top of how Damien had said he'd been seeking him for some time to address the topic.

The demon child looked down again, rubbing his arm awkwardly. "I actually...kind of know how you feel. My father never apologized to me. I still don't have any friends. I'm just sort of...here now. Most of the time I've just been feeling bored or guilty, but at least I've gotten that part out of the way."

Wiping the last of his tears away, Pip blinked his eyes clear and offered back a new tiny smile. "I appreciate that you can relate. And well, perhaps this doesn't mean much, but you're always free to call _me _your friend if you like."

Damien's eyes locked onto the other's in a bit of stun. "You want to be my friend..?" he questioned. Did _he _even want that? He'd felt bad and nurtured a growing need to apologize to the only person who had welcomed him with open arms, but had he ever had any thoughts about after that? Now that he looked back on it...yes. He actually kind of..._missed _Pip. He wanted to apologize in hopes that maybe they could start over and try being real friends. Pip had been a good friend.

"Why, sure!" the boy angel chirped, "I forgive you, Damien. It's not my place to judge you, anyway. We're all the same. And I think we'd get along swimmingly if we gave it a shot! You always were my favorite little Hellspawn, haha..!" As if he'd known any others.

"Huh." Pip really was the purest of souls, wasn't he? It was no wonder he'd defaulted to Heaven as his final resting place, but still Damien was feeling lucky that the other was spending most of his time down here and that they'd finally stopped passing each other by and managed to run into one another. "Y'know, I...think I might actually enjoy that. Alright, Pip! Let us join in unholy companionship!" The satanic boy raised his arms and summoned a flurry of celebratory lightning strikes to the surrounding terrain.

"Jolly good!" Pip applauded. A friend! How wonderful for the both of them! And the light show was rather spectacular a trick.

Damien smiled back, and the two spent a moment simply feeling good about their decision before noticing that they didn't actually have any sort of plan. The black-haired boy broke the escalating silence by venturing, "So...should we do something now, then, or..?" Would it be too fast to ask immediately?

"Oh! Um, if you would like, then yes!" Pip hadn't expected to jump right into it, but he figured there was no time like the present. It wasn't like he was getting any deader. "Friendship seems just as noble a pursuit as redeeming souls. What would you like to do, then?" It seemed only polite to offer to let the other boy choose the activity.

Damien considered, bumping his knuckles together in contemplation. "Hmmm...well, I haven't been doing much with other people...I suppose I go to the movie theater a lot. I like the darkness. And I've developed a morbid fascination with the mortal star referred to as 'Rob Schneider'...there's supposed to be a new film about him that I haven't seen yet."

Pip beamed. "That sounds splendid! I haven't seen a film in ages. Oh, but perhaps I'd better check in with God first and see if it's alright that I take a break from his mission to start a more personal one."

The demon child smiled in a bit of relief that his suggestion, usually an act of reclusiveness, had been accepted as a social outing. Then he watched curiously as Pip reached for the halo over his head and pulled it down, holding it in his hands and taking one half of it apart from the other to hold like a telephone receiver.

"It's ringing," Pip informed the other boy as he stared, then straightened as it was apparent he'd gotten a response. The halo flashed in time with the muffled syllables of the voice on the other end. "Yes, hello, God! It's young Phillip Pirrup; the one down in Hell, sir. Yes, that one. I was just wondering, sir, if it would be quite alright that I begin a side mission of sorts? See, I was hoping to head up to Earth and attend a film in pursuit of cultivating a relationship between – oh. Oh, yes, I see, sir. Very well. Thank you, sir!"

Hanging up his halo, Pip put it back where it belonged and turned his attention back to Damien cheerfully. "He said, 'I don't care what you do, you Limey little shit. Just so long as it means less of you around up here.' So! I suppose we're good then!"

Damien's head tilted. "God said that?" So much for divine grace and love or whatever.

"Oh yes, everyone hates me, I'm afraid. My therapy group's softened to me, but I suppose I must just have that sort of face. God's actually wanted to smite me from day one of my arrival, though on account of the purity of my soul, he can't without a good reason or else it would make him look bad. It rather just makes him hate me all the more."

"Wow. God's a prick." Now Damien truly felt sorry for the other. "It's kind of true, though. You do sort of have that kind of face." He couldn't help being truthful, however. He'd felt impulsive hatred for the blonde at one point himself.

"Haha, fair play on both accounts," allowed the angelic one jovially. God was a bit of a prick, really. "But in a way I suppose it's rather liberating if he doesn't care what I do. Shall we go ahead to the cinema?"

"Yes, alright." A little nervous about taking someone with him to attend a movie, Damien had to fend off some stomach flutters. Focusing on transport, he decided to take care of it and clapped his hands, then spreading his arms wide to engulf the two of them in flame. A mere second later the wall of flame dispersed and the two of them found themselves in South Park, outside the movie theater facing a row of posters advertising the pictures being shown.

Opting to carry on the conversation, Damien glanced at the boy now smiling as he observed the homey scenery and began checking out the options of movie. "Do you ever go up to Heaven, then?" He was getting kind of curious about how Pip spent his time as an angel.

"Sometimes," Pip answered, "My parents are up there, so I do enjoy the chance getting to see them again. They are rather old-fashioned, however, and I'd already gotten used to fending for myself when I was alive. They seem to have gotten along well without me in the afterlife as well, so our arrangement suits us fine. Hm. I wonder if they would enjoy a picture show."

"Your parents are in Heaven too?" Damien noticed something else he could relate to. "My father just went up there recently himself. Apparently he went and got himself killed trying to protect you mortals from one of his own minions."

"Oh dear! Satan is dead? My condolences, Damien!" Pip hadn't heard about that one! Then again, he was usually the last to find out about anything important.

Damien shrugged. "These things happen. I can't say I care a whole lot after the way he pretty much forgot I existed. Kind of pathetic if you ask me...dying to a lesser demon. Frail old man."

"Still..." Pip was shocked to hear Damien claimed to feel _nothing _over his own father's death. Then another thought occurred to him. "But wait. Does that mean you're technically the Overlord of Hell now? That would be quite exciting."

Another shrug. "I'm pretty sure most of Hell has forgotten I exist too, after the prophecy was fulfilled. They're in the middle of a reorganization or something, and I haven't been crowned or anything, but who knows? Maybe they'll find me in a file somewhere and want to give me the job."

"Well, why don't you go to them?" Pip asked, "Why wait for someone to find you?"

"I don't really want to," Damien gave simply, "What do I care if Hell is a mess? That was my father's work and it's his own fault. I don't need to inherit it. I just want to be a kid."

A brief silence as Pip digested this. It was a form of rebellion itself, turning down the position of Hell's ruler. Pip understood, though. No kid should feel obligated to step into their parent's shoes and take responsibility for cleaning up the mess they'd left behind. Resentment was also going to be natural if one's relationship with that parent hadn't been the best. "Fair play," the blonde boy granted, "Now, was this the film you meant?" He gestured to one of the posters they'd been passing, hoping to steer things in a more positive direction.

Damien looked at the poster advertising 'Rob Schneider is a Cartoon Now!' It was subtitled 'We're just getting lazy! Herpa derpa dee doo!' He felt a familiar tug of morbid curiosity that this actor just seemed to pull from him. "Yes. Yes, I believe this shall sate the Dark One's hunger for entertainment."

"Lovely!" With that, Pip closed his eyes to concentrate on becoming visible to the living, but was stopped when Damien put a sharp hand on his shoulder.

"Woah, hey! What are you doing?" the young demon insisted.

Pip blinked. "Going to pay for the film, of course."

"Don't do _that! _Why should we have to _pay _to see it? We are not even of this Earth. We can just walk right in!" To prove his point, he strode right past the ticket operator and entered the building, stopping to hold the door and looking expectantly back at the other boy.

Glancing at the man in the booth who was gawping at the open door in perplex, Pip then turned his eyes to Damien and felt a devious mix of misbehavior and agreement. "Oh..! Naughty, naughty..!" he giggled, and before he could waste much time on dithering, scuttled forward to enter. The door was shut and neither paid mind to the man outside trying to process the haunted door he'd just witnessed.

Inside, Pip giggled some more. "You're such a rapscallion, Damien..! I never would have thought of doing such a thing..!"

"Of course you wouldn't. You're a goody-goody angel," Damien noted bluntly, "But I see no reason to follow mortal rules with no bearing on the otherworldly. If something can be better for you, why not make it so?" He owed nothing to the people that had rejected him, and as well he had been raised on Satanism, so couldn't help feeling inclined to be a bit self-serving in his daily practices.

"Hm. You do have a bit of a point." Pip had just been acting as he always had in life, and hadn't really thought about what being dead could change for him. "So you're a fan of Rob Schneider, you said? What is it you like about him?" Pip asked to carry on the brighter topic.

As they walked towards the theater they needed to wait for their screening, Damien considered. "I do not know if I would use the word 'fan'...the one called Rob Schneider is a vile creature, but one that is puzzlingly fascinating. I cannot help but want to gaze upon what new and strange horror he releases. The morbid curiosity compels me..!"

"I see," Pip smiled agreeably, "And when did you first get into watching his films then?" They found the screen they needed and entered to find seats. There was still plenty of time before the next showing. Only ads were running on screen and no one else was even there.

"There were just...a lot of his movies coming out when I started coming here often. I suppose it stuck." Now Damien saw fit to make himself physical, making himself appear in the chair he'd chosen properly.

Pip realized this was likely to prevent being sat on, and followed suit. "I can understand that," he granted, "I never watched many films myself, so I shall be interested to see something you enjoy."

Damien returned, "I never thought you were interested in anything besides tea and crumpets."

"Mm, to be fair, you never did actually _ask _me much about my interests...at all, really."

"Mm." It was truth.

"Do you wish to know?"

"Very well. I suppose I do."

"Surely! I am interested in quite a lot, actually. I enjoy all manner of sports games, not that I get much opportunity these days being dead and all. But archery has always been my forte. I was quite highly regarded for it back in Primary. And I do love the water, and arcades and many rather standard boyhood activities. Although tea and crumpets are still pretty good."

"Huh." Go figure, there actually was more to the other than being a cardboard cutout of a British stereotype. Contemplating for a moment, Damien decided it was beneficial for both of them to offer, "Would you like to...do some of those things next..? I have not gotten to experience many activities requiring other children myself. And they do not sound...bad."

"Why, sure, Damien..!" Pip granted readily, "This is all rather sudden, but I just _knew _if we had the chance we would get along..! And I'm quite excited to try a lot of things with someone to share my enjoyment myself." Not just with others tolerating his presence, but someone along to truly share the experience as an equal? That sounded like Heaven to Pip.

Damien felt something he hadn't felt in quite a long time, and it was stronger than he'd ever known it. It was a warm and pleasant feeling. A mixture of happiness and excitement. He was looking forward to something. He was glad that someone – that Pip wanted to do something with him. _With _him! He was grateful that Pip was so open and forgiving about the past. He felt something like...he'd just _liked_ the other boy a little bit more in this moment.

Catching himself staring with a wistful sort of smile on his lips, Damien woke himself out of it and simply agreed, "O-Ok. Then so it shall be."

"Splendid!" Pip acknowledged right back, not seeming to think anything of the way the way the other's gaze had lingered. He relished a smile coming his way, really.

From there the conversation went on rather standard. Strangely, the more they talked the more they really did find more to talk about. It was compelling, comparing their realms, what they'd seen the people on Earth get up to, taste in animals and music and foods. In no time at all, the theater had been stocked with a smattering of other movie-goers and the two boys were being shushed as the film started. Pip silenced himself politely, but Damien didn't want to stop talking and began making predictions about the movie just to annoy the shushers.

Pip did try to reason with him that he was being rude, but Damien hardly cared – he was perfectly aware. Then he ignited his finger and shot a spark of Hellfire at one such patron who was annoying him, laughing wickedly as the man stood and flailed and attempted to put himself out. Pip merely remarked a quiet 'oh dear' in sympathy, not wishing to spoil his friend's time but feeling badly for the suffering soul.

Angrily, the burning man stomped off to fetch the usher to do something about the boys' disruptiveness, returning still aflame but now appearing to focus more on getting the boys in trouble than how he was slowly turning to char. The usher received the same treatment, and after a good laugh at both their expenses, Damien turned back to the screen as though nothing had happened.

"You were right, Pip," he remarked, "This is already far more fun with somebody else around..!" He might have been showing off a little, but at least nobody else looked like they were going to try bothering them. They'd scoffed and appeared to give up silencing the pair.

"Well, I'm...glad you see it that way, Damien," Pip granted, hushing his voice in attempt to be considerate, "But are you quite sure that was necessary? I must say that response did not seem entirely measured. I thought you'd said you realized how doing that sort of thing hurts people."

One of Damien's brows quirked. "I said I'd realized what I'd done to _you_..." he granted with some confusion, "These people are not friends to me. They are not even trying. Besides, countless times I have sat here and watched others chatter in the darkness while I was alone. Well, now it is my turn! No one shall silence the Dark One when he wishes to shoot the breeze!" He raised his arms in decree.

Pip recognized that Damien must be very excited to have a companion, but he also felt obliged to point out, "I understand, Damien, but these are still _somebody's _friends, and they too just want to enjoy the film. You don't have to kill them for asking us to keep our voices down. We were a tad bit loud. I appreciate the gesture, but you _can_ just whisper with me and ignore them."

Damien grumbled a little, annoyed by the angel taking the high road, but at least Pip was still expressing gratitude...and he was kind of right. "Oh, alright..." the demon prince relented, but only because he'd liked the conversation so well. Perhaps he _had _overreacted, too. A moment as he merely watched the goings-on onscreen. "Bitter unmerciful Hell, this is wretched."

Rob Schneider was playing some sort of animator who had been sucked into his own work, and the production values were obviously cheap. Not to mention the ridiculous way the character was just bouncing and flailing spouting every variation of "herp derp" he could as he interacted with the world around him, doing unfitting wild takes and following every cliché in the book. Yet Damien could not look away. It was so awful, he needed to see more.

Grateful Damien had agreed to restrain his lethal behavior, Pip too had turned back to the movie and could only reply, "Quite."

By the end of this screening, the blonde boy understood wholeheartedly what Damien had meant by finding these films morbidly compelling. The humor was so dumbed-down, and yet you had to watch, just to see if it was _really _that dumb the entire time. He expressed his relation to his demonic companion as they hopped over the two dead bodies in the aisle and exited the theater.

Damien felt himself grin as he heard the dead boy agree with his stance on the starring actor. Behaving during the show had turned out quite well then! Pip had gotten a chance to soak everything in and now they could talk all they wanted. Which they did plenty of as they made themselves unseen once more and slipped out with the small crowd. Pip would not mind watching more of these Schneider films if Damien had any recommendations. Damien said they should watch some at his place sometime. Maybe something that was actually _good_ as well.

Once free about in the public, Damien chose to make himself corporeal again, as he was technically still a live resident of South Park and most often kept his body while on Earth – it was simplest. Pip, however, thought it might be troublesome if by some sliver of chance someone noticed him walking around, and opted to remain invisible. Damien could see him, naturally, having eyes that could see such things as spirits, and Pip flew over his shoulder to carry on conversing as they chose their next activity.

A routine was fast established around activities such as this. Though the boys had slightly differing views on how to enjoy themselves, they nonetheless remained excited about the prospect of spending time with one another.

The next day they tried one-on-one basketball in the park. Damien was quick to use his powers to cheat, but Pip was not bothered. In fact he smirked playfully at one such instance of Damien opening a portal above the basket, and retaliated with a move of his own, taking flight and sending his halo out like a boomerang. The ball landed in the center of the disk and came back to Pip's hands, at which point Pip doffed said halo and swooped to sink the shot for himself.

The black-haired boy had exclaimed in stun, at first outraged that he'd been robbed of his trickery, but then began laughing, declaring that he hadn't thought the goody-goody had had it in him to hold his own against him. Pip had giggled and said if Damien was going to cheat, then he was merely going to even the odds.

Then Damien opened Hell once more and summoned a team of wraith minions to back him up, taking Pip's words as challenge and issuing one himself with his expression. Pip covered his mouth in coy surprise, but soon reciprocated with a determined expression of his own. Damien could not fly, and Pip could not summon assistance, but they still each had powers. The game was on: cheating vs anti-cheating.

Cheating had won, as in the end the anti-Christ's ability to summon help proved too much for just one angel, but it was the most satisfying victory Damien had ever had playing a game. Minions always _let _him win if he tried playing against them. Pip had been a challenge. Maybe next time he ought to cheat a little less and give him a real chance.

Pip had been a good sport, but still scolded, albeit with a light tone, about how unnecessarily overboard the maniacal laughter and hellish whirlwind of celebration had been as his wraiths touted him about like a king. Damien rolled his eyes but tolerated the do-gooder lecture.

Another day included the pair having a swim in Stark's Pond, which went from Damien playfully attempting to drown the already-dead boy to the pair actually deciding to explore the bottom. Turned out citizens liked to dump a lot of their secrets in this pond. There were a lot of old bones and interesting valuables to dig up.

Pip felt they should report at least some of these crimes, meanwhile Damien simply felt selling some of the jewels and trinkets would help make his part-time life on Earth a bit cushier. In the end they managed to compromise a little both ways.

Still another day saw the two boys at an arcade. Damien got quite upset here, as he could not seem to master the electronic games, and this was something he could not cheat his way to victory with.

He'd snapped and psychically blown up the cabinet he sat at, then declaring that his victory over the machine that had disobeyed him as he picked up the roll of tickets inside and headed over to the prize counter.

Pip...had actually snorted after letting this act sink in for a moment, watching the other boy march off proudly with his stolen tickets. It was such a silly thing to get so steamed about, yet it was oddly endearing to witness the son of Satan act so vengefully towards a mere gaming machine over such a childish matter.

Dare the angelic boy say, he was starting to find these little outbursts almost cute. Damien had matured emotionally in a lot of ways since their short time in school together, but at heart he really was still just a little boy. A little boy Pip really was beginning to like.

Likewise, Damien's excitement over his new friend did not wane in these days to come. It was he who pushed for more time together, and he who never seemed to want to let Pip leave by day's end. He didn't know if it was just because Pip was the first and only proper friend he'd ever had, but he found that upon giving the British boy a true chance, he just couldn't get enough of him. He was too fun to tease, he was too fun to talk to, he was so weirdly relatable despite being such an...angel.

Months went by in a blink as the pair fast became inseparable. Damien would want to skip school just to hang out, but Pip would remind him that he had counseling work to do anyway and that education was important. Though Damien had skipped school plenty of times on his own to go do nothing, for some reason he let Pip nudge him towards actually attending class. And every day afterward, he and the angel would go over homework in Hell together, Pip taking Damien as vicarious education since he could no longer attend school on his own, followed by the boys having their fun playing or watching television or having sleepovers in the brimstone caves they called home.

Then, one evening Damien had demanded the angel take him for a flight over the Colorado Rockies, and naturally subservient as he was, Pip had agreed. They were flying high above the gorgeous mountainous landscape lit by a vibrant sunset, Pip carrying the other below him by his hands, both observing the town and landscape below with mutual appreciation when all of a sudden Damien noticed.

He noticed he liked holding Pip's hands.

An unexpected development to say the least.

He'd blinked, his smile turning to a blank gawp as his thoughts turned inward. Had he felt that right? That little flurry of fuzz and contentment going off in his chest?

Sweet Succubus, he had. And there it was again..! Now that he was thinking about it, the feeling returned tenfold, creating a distinct wave of butterflies in his stomach. Obviously it stemmed from the palms against his, both of which felt warmer as he became extra aware of them.

Damien looked up, turning his gawp towards the boy carrying him. It couldn't be...

Noticing movement, Pip looked down to find Damien looking at him and offered a pleasant smile, but then tilted his head in slight curiosity as he noticed the strangely glassy look in the other's eyes and how he _wasn't_ smiling.

Damien blushed. Like a zap of static electricity, twitterpation came to his heart and he blushed hard. He definitely liked holding Pip's hands. He liked Pip's innocent, sugary smile and the persistent bright, caring sincerity in his eyes.

"Are you alright, Damien?" a concerned question rang, "You're looking a bit flushed. Is it the altitude? I can take us a bit lower if you're having breathing difficulties." Thin air was Pip's first guess.

"No...I'm fine," Damien answered. What should he say? Should he wait and be extra sure of his feelings? They felt pretty strong. Should he just tell the truth while they were in the middle of flying? Would that be awkward?

He didn't give two craps about being gay. His own father was gay, and really, it was such an unimportant detail when it came to romantic feelings. But he _was _unsure of what Pip would say, and he was nervous about protocol. How did people usually explain themselves when they realized they were attracted to someone? How did people tell their one and only _best friend _that they were attracted to them?

"Just fly, you winged rat. Fly _higher_, in fact!" Damien ended up snipping. He would worry about this later. Right now he would simply like to bask in his own emotions and reflect.

"Right-o," Pip breezed, hardly off-put by the name. He was used to those. In Damien's case they seemed like a verbal tic that could be directed at anyone, but also in this case might have been a bit...defensive? Either way, Pip actually found the way the dark boy used his sharp language as a barrier endearing. It reminded him of a girl he used to know. A girl he'd been rather taken with despite her not being interested in the slightest.

Damien was silent now. They both were. Damien closed his eyes and leaned his head to rest on his left arm as they flew, just thinking about Pip's palms touching his, the way his fingers curled against his skin and how it might feel if they were on the ground, just holding hands to hold them rather than as a means of support. He thought about having Pip as his own.

A small smile developed on the young demon's lips. A soft blush dusted his cheeks again.

The next day Damien decided to try it.

As he met with Pip after school, the beaming angel waiting for him outside the doors so they could both head back to his place to study, Damien wordlessly grabbed his companion's hand. He didn't stop walking, he didn't let it interrupt the wall of flames he brought up to take them down to Hell, he didn't even change his expression. He just kept looking straight ahead and snatched, his coldness seeming to warn Pip against any protest.

Pip did not protest. He let out a small surprised sound at how aggressively he was grabbed, but quickly fell to Damien's pace and said nothing as they both looked forward. He assumed there must be some hurry, but then all that happened was that they entered his quaint house lined with homey British décor and Damien began unpacking the supplies from his backpack once taking his seat at the table. Now Pip was puzzled.

"Well, if you're situated, Damien, I will go fetch us our tea, yes?" he said politely instead of asking directly about his wonders. It would be rude to just start drilling, he imagined, and perhaps if given the chance Damien would explain himself.

"Hm? Oh, alright then. Go and fetch your swill." Damien relented in releasing Pip's hand, not watching as the blonde boy gave a good-natured chuckle at the jab, but then sent him one last curious side-eye before heading to his kitchen.

Alone, Damien looked at the hand he'd just been gripping Pip's with for a moment, then letting a soft smile come to his lips as he sighed. Pip's hand had been warm and sent a glint of light going off in his chest. He'd liked holding the angel's hand just to hold it. He wanted to hold it more.

Pip returned with tea and crumpets, giving Damien one more interested look in case there was anything the boy wished to say, but found the Dark Prince acting rather normal, just scribbling down some answers to his Science homework. He even gave the usual distasteful 'pleh' when Pip poured him a cup and set the drink beside him.

"We'll find one you like someday, Damien," he joshed. Damien claimed to despise tea, though he still drank it every time it was offered. Pip assumed it was out of manners, but still he must not hate it that much to finish it off – and to not throw any demonic tantrums over it. As such, Pip's way of showing appreciation was to continuously offer new teas in hopes that one would actually get no complaint. It had become another one of their small side games.

Hm. Maybe the hand grabbing was going to be something like that too. Pip decided to wait some more and see if Damien lent him any clues about it, or if in fact this had merely been a one-time incident.

It was not one-time, that quickly became clear. The next day and the day after that, Damien would once more take Pip's hand after school without word, and then was even bolder in his actions. Because Pip continued to hold silence when his hand was stolen, Damien saw himself clear to act as he liked, and would take it when they went to play as well. In a very short time, it seemed any time the two had somewhere to travel, Damien would take Pip's hand for the trip, be it to the movies, the arcade, school or home. In or out of South Park, it didn't matter. Before long, if they were walking, they were holding hands.

Just shy of a week of these frequent, silent hand-holding demands, Pip decided he'd given the other plenty of time to begin explaining himself. He'd begun to gather an inkling, as he was not a dense boy, but still wished to get his answers directly.

Seated on a ledge lining one of the many windy torture pits in Hell's 2nd Circle, Pip glanced at the infernal child next to him, who was spitting down into the pit on occasion and grinning to see what unsuspecting soul the tornado inside would cause it to strike. This time the boys' hands hand been joined the entire time they'd been sat for their activity.

"Damien," the little angel inquired at last, "Not that I mind it terribly, but I'm afraid my curiosity has reached its peak and I must question: why have you been so taken with my hand as of late?"

Damien's back straightened tensely as he was called out. He supposed he ought to have expected it at some point, but he still wasn't ready for the directness of the question, nor had he known exactly when it would be sprung. He looked at Pip, who was merely giving him a bright-eyed patient look as ever, just waiting for a reply.

The Dark One felt it hard to speak suddenly. He wasn't prepared to reveal himself! He hadn't thought about it properly. So long as he'd been able to do as he pleased without protest, he'd felt it was fine to carry on like that. He'd thought he'd have more time. "Um..." All at once, his defensiveness came to the rescue and his face hardened. "Can't...can't you figure it out for yourself, Holy Stain of Stench?"

Pip blinked, noting the resistance but also the falter. His palm was staying ensnared as well, and so he reasoned, "I do not wish to assume, Damien. Rather I would like to hear it from you directly so as to avoid unwarranted mix-ups."

The dark-haired boy's teeth clenched. He knew Pip was making sense. He also _wanted _to admit the truth, but for some reason this desire was harder to spit out than most. Finally, Damien steeled himself by crushing his eyes shut and taking an inhale, then turning to meet Pip's gaze, brows still down-turned.

"It would appear I've fallen smitten for you, you rotten seed of Holiness."

Pip's brow went up, his eyes larger. "Oh..!" No beating around the bush, then. Still unprepared to hear what had only been a fleeting suspicion, Pip blushed deeper and immediately felt flustered. "W-Well, Damien, I'm...quite flattered..!" He was, but well, what a compromising position in which to have to consider his reply!

"Of course you are! The One Prince of Darkness has chosen you!" the young demon declared as though it was the only option, "So, accept me, dirty pigeon of God! Confess and be with me! I command it!"

Pip recognized that Damien was acting defensive, and assumed it was probably out of nerves, but he still did not appreciate the bossy tone. "I'm afraid it doesn't quite work that way, Damien," he informed, mustering a bit of push-back as he separated himself from the other boy, "I do still rather have a say, you know."

Damien's face was disgruntled, this clearly not being what he wanted to hear. Inside his nerves were shot. He didn't want to ruin their friendship with this, so why couldn't Pip just say yes and keep it from getting awkward? Damn him and his...fairness!

Trying to ignore the miniature fume he was getting, the blonde's hand went to his chest as he processed all of this. "Goodness me..." This was his first confession, and it was from his first friend! What was he supposed to say? Truly, he had come to like the other boy a great deal, more than any other person he had known, but was it to such an extent? Yes it made him blush now to consider, but many would have such a reaction to finding themselves in such a position so suddenly. Pip didn't even know if he liked boys.

He had had one crush that had, naturally with his luck, never had anything become of it, but it had been on a girl. Not that that meant anything in the long run. Pip was an open-minded chap. "Would you mind terribly not glowering at me in such a manner?" he couldn't help asking, however, "It does make the decision ever so much harder."

Damien didn't see what was so hard. He liked Pip, he wanted Pip, and he liked getting what he wanted. Pip liked giving him what he wanted, so he should do just that!

Fidgeting with his hands, Pip turned away from the stare that was not relenting after his request. He just couldn't do this puzzle justice here. He felt bad for it, but it was simply too sudden and too pressuring. "I'm sorry," he gave the other boy, "But I'm going to have to ask you for a think on this one. Might I sleep on it and get back to you tomorrow? No later, I promise."

A small disgruntled grunt from Damien. He didn't like how uncertain that sounded. His instinct was to eliminate that uncertainty and take what he wanted. Secure it. He didn't want to wait around for an answer any more than Pip wanted to make him. But at the same time, he did want to be fair to this boy. He liked this boy and no longer had any real desire to hurt him. "Only until tomorrow," he pointed a bit more sharply than intended, "But don't you forget: in all the realms, I'm the only thing you have! Without me, there will be none to love you again! You will be mine!" After what he had hoped would be a decent reminder that their friendship was at stake, Damien gave one last glower before raising his arms and disappearing in a column of fire.

Looking at the unnecessarily showy scorched pentagram on the ground, Pip wrung his hands some more. "Dear, dear..." A nervous line slipped out. That reminder hadn't sounded very friendly.

Nevertheless, the young angel did think on his predicament. He didn't hate how Damien had acted so possessive or lashed out. In fact, that had been part of what made him blush so much in recalling the incident as he lay in bed in Hell that night. His own crush had called him much worse, and hadn't felt anything for him at all, but he'd still like her. He couldn't explain it, but he seemed drawn to the way Damien lashed out while expressing an interest towards him.

Perhaps a lifetime of bad treatment had left him looking for it because it was comfortable and his idea of affection was a bit skewed, but Damien still hadn't really mistreated him. He was a little harsh at times, but the boy had still gone out of his way to apologize to Pip in the first place and truly made an effort to get along with him. Having that element of real human closeness got Pip's chest warming all the more, and those moments where Damien's silver tongue spiked became the spice in their companionship. Still, did he return Damien's advances?

What if it didn't work? Pip wanted to be fair and give the boy a chance, but what if he agreed and ended up feeling nothing? Damien truly was all Pip had, so he was afraid of both angering him by back-tracking on a yes, and creating a rift if he said no.

Were there any unforeseen consequences? Would God be mad if he started dating the son of the Devil? What would his parents say? Would they be disappointed? Pip clutched his blanket as he began fretting over the outcome no matter what he said. For lack of a better term, he felt damned if he did and damned if he didn't.

...

The next day, Pip found himself sitting in his therapy session, staring listlessly off to the side at nothing while lost in his own head. The circle he was sitting at the head of began shifting in their chairs as well, having noticed their counselor growing more distracted in the past few days, but never having lost him quite like this.

After a moment of sharing glances and muttering quietly, a seedy-looking man in an old-fashioned London coat piped up, "Pip..? You all there, mate?"

The man next to Pip, wearing Roman emperor's garb, grinned a little bit and took the excuse to stroke the boy's cheek lightly with his index finger.

This got a stir out of the angelic one, making him blink and sit straighter in a hurry. "Oh, goodness! Terribly sorry, gents. And ladies, of course. I was miles away..! Uh, what were we talking about again?"

"We hadn't started yet..." the London man pointed out, causing Pip to blush in embarrassment and mutter an 'oh'. The man went on, "Seems to me like you're the one with a problem though, Pip, old fella. You wanna talk about what's been eatin' ya?"

A few snickers from the cannibal members of the group, but the general consensus was that yes, the others would like to hear what was bothering their guide of conscience. "You're always helping us out, Pip dear; least we can do is hear you out in turn," another of them granted.

"Oh..! Th-Thank you, Mr. The Ripper. Ms. Bathory," Pip returned, touched at his group's concern for him. He really had reached them in a certain way. Just because they were all violent killers didn't mean they were beyond compassion, he always said. Nevertheless, Pip rubbed his arm weakly as he debated sharing the nature of his issue.

A man with a bushy mustache sporting a bowler hat and a noose around his neck, sitting to Pip's other side, lifted a hand and reminded of advice the boy had given them. "You know it'll make you feel better to get off your chest. Talking through our problems is better than bottling them up. And I for one would like to hear about how tortured you are. Is it torturing you? How bad does it hurt? Haha, torrrture..."

Pip sighed lightly. "Perhaps you have a point, Mr. Holmes," he relented, "Oh, alright. It's just that...well, you know my good friend Damien?"

Several mumbles of affirmation, some with distaste for the little anti-Christ that liked to play cruel games with them, some of indifference. Either way, Pip had mentioned him in chat before.

"Well, as it turns out, my good friend has...well, he likes me. He wants to be my boyfriend. It's rude to leave him hanging as I have, but I'm worried about the hullabaloo replying to him either way might cause."

A chorus of interested 'ooooo's arose from the circle of murderers as though they were a bunch of school children.

Meanwhile, on the surface world, Damien had chosen to skip school today. He was instead wandering about the park, past the basketball courts and benches he'd visited many times, but only recently with someone else. He just didn't know what he was doing wrong. He'd given Pip time like he wanted, said he could make the choice for himself, but also made it clear what he wanted that choice to be. So what was making Pip's choice so hard? He wanted to be something Pip wanted to like back.

Damien needed some help. He needed advice. Only...he didn't have any other friends. He didn't trust the school counselor. Actually, hopping up on a park bench to stew over his problems, only one person came to mind that he could turn to in a time of need. One person so helpful and pure that he would have no choice but to heed the call. Damien closed his eyes and concentrated.

"Jesus..? Are you there, Jesus? It is I, Damien, Son of Lucifer. I call upon thee and command you to be my audience."

He only had to wait a couple of seconds before his summon resulted in a glimmer of holy light and the haloed Savior was standing there in front of him, blinking in confusion as he looked from side to side. Turning, he continued to stare in disbelief at the boy in black grinning at him from his place on the bench.

"So...it is true," Jesus noted dumbly, "Thou, O Unholy One, have summoned me. I did not think I would see you again after the Boxing Match of Good and Evil. Be this some form of trick?"

"No, Son of Stench," Damien scoffed, "I really have a problem! You are the only one I can turn to, and you are obligated to help children who ask!"

Jesus shrank a bit meekly. "Well..."

"I demand you give me counsel!" the shrill-voiced monarch exclaimed, clenching his fists and shaking in his seat.

Jesus blinked again. He could see the boy was agitated, and did feel pity for him. As unorthodox as it may have been, he sighed and granted, "Very well. What is troubling you, My...actually, wait. What am I supposed to call you? You are _not _one of My Children. You are an unholy little bastard brought into life only to know darkness and commit suffering, outside my jurisdiction on the Path of Light."

An annoyed grunt from the Hellspawn as Jesus got sidetracked. "I do not care! Why not simply address me as Damien? It is my most obvious of titles!"

Jesus cleared his throat a bit awkwardly, supposing that made some sense. Still, it felt strange to be so familiar with the son of his sworn enemy. "Very well...Damien. What is it for which you seek my advice?"

"I want Pip to like me back! What makes it so hard for him to want to be my boyfriend?" Damien burst, clearly frustrated over the matter.

The Holy Spirit's head went back in surprise. The Son of Satan...was having love problems? Still, that thought melted a small soft spot in Jesus' heart. Children discovering love for the first time was always adorable. Taking a seat beside the boy, Jesus pressed carefully, "Who is...Pip?"

Staring at his lap, Damien grumbled, "Phillip Pirrup. He is one of _you _festering feather minions! He lives in Hell and he does everything with me and he is obnoxiously charming and sweet and he fills a hole of companionship I have been longing for. I find myself living for every moment I must sit through his lectures on morality and the games we get to play. He is beautiful and I do not want to share him without knowing he is secured as mine. I want to hold his hand for eternity. This I have told him in that I...like him." A small hesitation. "But still he puts off his agreement!"

Jesus's face was slack with stun as he took this all in. "Wwwow," he began, hardly believing he was hearing these sorts of feelings from the Dark Prince. Clearing his throat again, Jesus tried to treat the situation like he would any other. "Well, Damien, how _exactly _did you tell him? I've noticed you are acting a bit...on edge. Perhaps you might have made him nervous? Are you even sure he reciprocates your feelings?"

Damien appeared to take offense. "I am the only one there will be to grant Pip this affection! There can be no other outcome!"

Now Jesus' face softened in understanding. "Ahhh. No, see, Damien, you _are _pressuring him," the Savior explained, "You are feeling nervous yourself, and by saying Pip has no option but to like you, and by hovering so tensely over the decision like this, you are making it harder for him. You cause him to call doubt to his mind and not think freely, truthfully. Anyone needs time to think about the direction strong feelings like this will take them. Were _you _so certain when you realized you liked this boy?"

Having been waiting for a moment to bite back, this last question made Damien blink and his face slack as he thought about it. "I...no. I...waited. To be sure of those feelings to myself. I waited so much I did not actually confess until he asked about why I was taking his hand so often."

A blink from the taller man. "You were taking his hand even before confession?"

"Well...yes." Damien's eyes slid to the side unsure. Was that wrong? "I wanted him."

"That is called rape, young Damien," Jesus informed firmly, but still gently, a finger raising into the air.

"What?!" Damien's face was aghast and confused now. But he hadn't molested Pip!

"Taking affection without consent is a sin," Jesus elaborated, "And by Heavenly Law, counts as rape. You raped his hand, Damien. No doubt confused him as well."

Damien looked at his own hands on some puzzle. He supposed it made some sense...stealing was generally unpleasant to the victims. And he really hadn't been thinking about what Pip felt about having that hand-holding pushed upon him. Since Pip hadn't complained he'd merely continued taking it because he'd personally enjoyed it. "I...didn't mean to..?"

"It is alright, My...um, Just Damien." Jesus faltered, still too used to calling those he consoled His Children. "So long as you understand where you have put Pip's mind, you can begin to heal. As well, you must accept that just because you are the only option for this boy, a 'no' may still be coming."

Another blink from the unholy child. "What is this now you speak, Disgusting Righteous Cretin?"

"Don't take it out on _me,"_ the Son of God huffed, "I'm trying to help you. All I'm saying is that that kind of defensive attitude is exactly what can drive someone away. By not accepting the fact that this boy might turn down your confession, you're only working yourself up and making him feel trapped."

Another blink. "Well...that's the idea. I want to keep him."

"Well, if you do it through manipulative means, then that's abuse," Jesus pointed out.

Damien's mouth hung open in angered stun. "Why are all of my instincts sins?!" he demanded.

"Really..?" Jesus returned, "You're...you're the Son of Satan." Much as he appreciated the Hellspawn wished to improve himself, shouldn't it have been obvious to the boy?

"Screw Satan!" Damien groused, "Just tell me why I can't insist that Pip be mine!"

The Holy One coughed into his fist lightly before explaining some more. "It's...really more of the same, Damien. It's still a form of pressuring, and well, it can't make you feel good either if you have to _force _Pip to accept you. Didn't you say you wanted him to like you on his own?"

The boy in black had to think about that some more. Normally he would be happy to have what he wanted and not care about what others around him thought...but he'd never wanted a person before. Perhaps that made things different. He didn't in fact want Pip to be unhappy. Perhaps Jesus was right. Maybe he really did need to accept that he might be turned down. Already by thinking about admitting that possibility, he strangely felt his hackles lower. If he was prepared for a no, it would soften the blow, and as well, would make a yes all that much sweeter. And if he wasn't a sandy little butthole about it...maybe if Pip _did _say no, they could still be friends..?

"You...you make some good points, Filthy...um, Jesus," Damien decided to be courteous, though it was a bit stiff. As Jesus was one of his sworn enemies, it was strange to be polite to him. "I shall bear them in mind while I await Pip's response, and while he is giving it."

It was Jesus' turn to blink. He'd hardly expected his words to have such an impact on the Son of the Fallen One. "Think nothing of it, Damien. Was there anything else you needed counseling on? Are you somehow insecure about feeling this way for an angel? Anything like that?" He'd expected some concern of that caliber, at least.

"Hm? No." Damien barley spared a glance at that suggestion. What did he care who talked about it if he was seen with an angel? He was perfectly content in wanting what he wanted. Although, in light of this discussion, maybe he ought to be more sensitive to any worries Pip might have. "You've given me enough, Jesus. Thank you for stopping by."

"Hmm. Alright then," Jesus accepted, not sensing any defensive push-back. "I wish thee luck, in that case, young Damien. Fare thee well."

"Bye."

Once Jesus had raised his arms and disappeared in a second twinkle of holy light, Damien spent a moment mulling over what had been said before feeling compelled to head back down to Hell. All he wanted was to talk to Pip, so he decided to wait for him to be done with his charity class.

In said class, Pip was blushing slightly and bumping his knuckles as his group members gave him such a teasing response after he'd admitted he'd been confessed to.

"What's wrong with that, then, Pip?" a hunched woman holding an axe noted, "You two are already inseparable, ain't ya?"

Pip shrank just a bit more. "Yes, well you see...that's where my worry stems from, Ms. Borden," he explained, "I'm afraid that our great friendship will be ruined no matter what I say. He is right; he's all I have in this world. Not to put you fellows down any, but I mean in an...outside work sense, you know? I doubt any of you would want to come skip rocks at Stark's Pond or play Hopscotch or watch Charlie's Angels with me."

His eyes scanned the group, but they all muttered dismissively and glanced elsewhere, rather proving Pip's point. The boy carried on. "He might get mad at me if I say no, but then what if I say yes and then it turns out I didn't actually like him that much? He'll still get mad at me! I want to be fair to him, but I'm simply not sure what I should answer!"

By Pip's side, Caligula chuckled, "Well, I wouldn't turn down any young boy seeking _my _attention...or girl...or elder...or horse..."

"Yes, I quite get the picture, Caligula," Pip rolled his eyes like he'd heard that opinion many times in other irrelevant conversations, "And we will continue to work on those impulses, but I'm afraid I'm not so quick to jump into those sorts of things. I want to know I'm doing the right thing."

"Well, Pip," the Hungarian woman in the elegant fluffy dress input, "It seems to me like you're missing the point entirely."

Pip blinked. "Ms. Bathory?"

She nodded and elaborated, "Young virgin stock aside...pure-blooded, virile, _replenishing _virgin youth...pardon. That aside, you've only mentioned you're afraid of what you might make _him _feel. You've forgotten to think about what _you _actually feel."

Pip stared as he realized the blood-bathing Noble had a point. He'd thought he'd been thinking about his feelings, but somewhere along the line that line of thought had become muddled and turned into worrying about others' reactions instead. "My goodness...I _have _lost track!"

Jack the Ripper nodded. "Ya gotta keep it basic, lad. Think about what's right for _you._ Straightforward, right now, yeh think he's cute at all? Heheh..." He thought back to the slew of women he'd made pure and beautiful in what he'd perceived to be God's eyes. They'd looked so much prettier without their tainted organs, although Pip seemed to disagree with his standards of beauty and wanted to schedule a personalized counseling meet-up with him and all his old victims down here.

A hand was placed to the young angel's chin and he gave a thoughtful hum. Such a simple consideration hadn't even crossed his mind last night. Did he find Damien attractive?

His companionship certainly was. Just being beside him was enough to bring Pip a bright smile. And the way he smiled at Pip, too. That appropriately devilish grin, sometimes smirk. Those sharp eyes, strong brows, framed by a fluffy mop of slightly messy dark hair starkly contrasting such fair and smooth skin. That commanding aura he gave off.

"You know...I think I might find him rather striking, in fact. Rather striking indeed." Damien was an enticing fellow when he thought about it. Perhaps it was a natural ability for the demonic, but it hardly seemed like Damien's intent to act tempting out of manipulation. His main struggle was finding social connections, after all, and he'd been putting up too many walls for that. No, Pip just felt like Damien was someone he was just drawn to on his own.

The violent folks of the therapy group 'awww'ed collectively.

"Sounds like a start to me," Lizzie Borden voted.

"It's adorable when angels get tainted, too," H.H. Holmes cooed on Pip's right.

The young blonde boy waved a hand at him. "Oh no, no. He hasn't done anything of the sort. Our exchange of ideas is quite mutual. Neither of us has done anything we would object to morally."

"Aww." This time the mustached man slouched in disappointment.

Thinking about what he'd just said now, Pip put his hands on one another again and found a small smile. "Actually, I...rather appreciate how he hasn't been pushy about changing me at all. He rather seems to like me for who I am. I like _him _for who he is. And the way he held my hand, well...it was kind of nice despite my confusion. I think...yes, I think I _would _like to try it again. I think I'd like to try being his boyfriend as well. I just have to trust him to value our friendship enough not to want to toss it out with the bathwater if things don't work out."

Pip grinned. "What an insightful bunch of psychopaths you are! Thank you!" He truly appreciated his therapy group offering to return the favor of talking him through a personal dilemma. He felt so much better now!

The bunch murmured and passed the praise off bashfully, obviously proud underneath.

Pip went on. "I'm sorry for taking up so much of our counseling session with my own problems as well. Is there anything you'd all like to discuss today?"

Now the killers shared glances to assess one anothers' opinions.

"Nah, I think I'm good going back to servin' my time in the pits," Jack the Ripper shrugged, "Got the feelin' yer mind's still gonna be elsewhere anyway."

"Yes, let's just end early today, why don't we?" Elizabeth Bathory agreed. Others nodded and seemed perfectly content letting Pip off to go resolve his issue and working on their own later.

"Oh..!" Pip was grateful, but didn't want to be rude. "Are you sure?" His clients were already moving about to get up up and clear the room, though.

"Go get 'im, little lion," Caligula teased as the group headed for the door, "Rowr."

Pip followed flying, blushing at that comment. "Um, well...thank you again for your kind support. I'll see you all tomorrow then..!" He waved off the murderous bunch, who were now gossiping among themselves as they wandered back towards their places of punishment. No doubt they were going to want the results tomorrow.

Turning to make his own way home and perhaps prepare for what he might say to Damien once school was out, the fluttering angel was shocked to find the boy already outside, waiting leaning against a stalagmite a few feet down the path from the counseling office door. He'd been looking at the ground and idly playing with fire on his fingers, but looked up at the sound of departing bodies. He gave the small crowd an odd look as they passed him by with knowing and interested expressions, hands to their mouths and clearly talking about him, but overall Damien remained nervous and focused on the boy now flying towards him. He came to meet him partway a few steps, his own expression betraying his nerves.

"Oh dear..." Becoming nervous himself, Pip hoped Damien hadn't come just to demand an answer out of impatience. Landing in front of the Dark Prince he started, "Hello, Damien. You're quite lucky. I've only just worked out what I'd like to say to you."

"Oh?" Damien felt a spike of anticipation, both good and bad, hearing that, but quickly corrected his train of thought. "I mean...I didn't come to hound you about that. As much as I want to. Um, Phillip..." Damien had been debating in recent weeks about using Pip's preferred, proper name. At the very least, if he was going to tackle this topic, it seemed a good time to be considerate of such a thing.

Pip certainly noticed the use, his own face falling to stun. Damien was using such an unusually soft tone as well. "Yes, Damien?" he returned.

Silence followed as Pip's wide, puzzled eyes found themselves locked onto Damien's steady, piercing ones. Damien tried to ignore the way the other boy glowed in the lava light and pressed forward with the piece he wanted to say. "I...want to apologize for how I've been acting over this revelation, actually," he expressed, "I shouldn't have just started acting like I owned you. I realize I was probably pressuring and confusing you, and I just wanted to say if you need more time to think about it properly, I won't mind. Also I'm sorry I raped your hand."

Pip's head tilted and he blinked in bewilderment. "Beg your pardon?" He'd followed everything just fine until that last bit.

"Yes. I know it was wrong. And I'm...sorry I abused you."

"I'm sorry, but when did you abuse me?"

"When I...tried to control you..?"

"Oh, I actually didn't mind you doing all that. Well, not the possessive part anyway. I _was _feeling a tad pressured and confused, so I appreciate you being willing to relent on that front and give me more time, but you needn't back off altogether. I actually enjoy a spot of abuse from time to time."

It was Damien's turn to blink. "Wait. Really..?"

"Quite! Not all the time, mind you, and I most enjoy having someone challenging to butt heads with and stimulate my moral drive, but your possessiveness is actually a point _towards _my favor. I greatly dislike being manipulated, but simple little things like a good smack upside the head every now and then couldn't hurt, haha..! It's quite nostalgic. And I think I might get a rise out of it."

There was a brief silence now as Damien processed this. Pip..._liked _certain forms of abuse? So...it was more about knowing _when _and what _kind _of aggressive behavior to use? Certain points of Jesus' like not overreacting and lashing out in a way that could hurt Pip still made sense, but Pip was contradicting the notion that all such behavior should be avoided. Pip must be different? Damien felt his cheeks warm as he realized that was probably a contributing factor in why he was attracted to the boy.

Giving the ground a grumpy look, defying his blush, Damien stepped forward, only looking at Pip for a brief moment as he reached to deliver a slap to his cheek. "That's for making me worry about you so much," he grumbled, grousing at the ground to his side again. "And making me apologize for nothing then. Even if it is mostly Jesus' fault."

Surprised, Pip touched his cheek and stared at nothing for a moment. His words hadn't exactly been an invitation to smack him right _now. _And Damien had never hit him previously..! But he understood. Damien was showing acceptance by doing that. His own form of understanding. As well, the devilish boy seemed to have liked something about Pip's reaction by the way his face was lightly rosy. Pip liked that Damien continued to have the sense and desire to recognize his own wrong-doing and apologize, just as when they'd first reunited.

The angel's face softened and he smiled at the one acting sheepish. He felt the sting on his cheek turning into a sort of warm tingle that began moving south and invading his chest. "So long as you don't roast me again or explode at me for saying something you dislike. You're still on terms with Jesus?" he decided to ask, opting to display how little offense he took, "That's exciting."

"Not really," Damien admitted, getting courage to make eye contact again. The mundane topic was unexpected, but it did make him feel safer, like his actions were acceptable. "I just...needed some advice. And he's...around."

Ah. Pip realized that must have been where Damien had gotten all this stuff about abuse. Jesus operated on a standard of normal and healthy Earthly interactions. Trauma manifesting in a relationship as sadomasochism likely didn't enter his radar very often. Aw, but that was cute that Damien had sought advice after leaving his confession in such a huff. He'd been just as nervous as Pip.

Smiling again at the Dark One, Pip consoled, "I can relate. My counseling charity turned into more about me today. One thing your rushing did was mix me up on my priorities. Partly my own fault of course, but my clients helped me see I was wasting thought on stupid things like what God thinks and sent me straight. I did say I didn't need more time, and well, it's still true. It is convenient you're here, Damien. I don't need to wait any longer to give you my response."

Damien felt his throat tighten. The way their conversation had been going he could only hope, but he had to be ready for anything. Anyone would find the anticipation nerve-wracking. "And..?" was all he managed to coax the other with.

"Well, if you will forgive me my own moment of rape..." Pip quipped, and before Damien could do little more than register the play on his own terms, the little angel had flapped his way off the ground. Only a small bit, for a second later he'd swooped to scoop Damien up by his underarms, hugging him close. The two swirled up into the open air of Hell's spacious caverns, and as they leveled out to come to a resting hover, it would become apparent that Pip was kissing Damien.

One leg was curled daintily as the little angel pressed forward, squeezing the other boy with love. It was impulse, but he just couldn't help listening to it.

Damien hadn't had much time to react to this, either. He'd done so automatically, in fact, his hands gripping Pip's upper arms in a mix of stun and approval. He'd liked the feel of being kissed before even registering it was happening, his eyes closing themselves as his own legs kinking back slightly under the affectionate assault.

When he did register the soaring in his gut was not just due to the literal way he'd been rushed into the air, Damien felt dizzy. It was a happy dizziness, taking over his brain in a crashing wave of awareness. Pip's lips were on his, soft and smooth and delightful...and they were saying yes! Surely, surely there was no other way to interpret this. That answer more than anything made Damien feel relief and joy like he'd never known.

Just to be sure there was no mistake, Pip was sure to speak when he pulled back. "I would love to be your boyfriend, Damien." Well, he hadn't felt anything less in kissing the boy from Hell. In fact he'd dare say he'd felt downright giddy in doing so. He really _did _want to be with Damien! Hallelujah! "Forgive me?" He should still make sure stealing that kiss was not beyond his boundaries.

Damien's eyes had opened, their lids still weighted and his lips slightly parted as they soaked in the aftermath of a feeling they already missed. They'd barely gotten to explore all of the feelings the other boy's lips had granted them.

"Do it again, you vile being of tempting purity."

Pip blushed. Well now! He supposed he shouldn't be afraid of the other being mad at him! "I...really?" He'd heard that properly?

Two hands fisted firmly at the lapels under the large bowtie Pip wore. "I did not stutter. Kiss me, Godchild. Affirm your rightful place by my side." He was too happy to have any second thoughts. His wish was coming true and now he was ready to seize it whole-heartedly.

One more short, vague sound of slack-jawed marvel escaped Pip as he blushed even harder, but he felt there was no arguing with that bluntness. It had been meant. In a rush of want to unleash his own surging desire, the blonde came forward again, crushing his lips back over Damien's obediently, and harder than he had prior.

Damien whimpered. It was an unexpected sound from the demon child, but it was adorable in Pip's ears, as was the tightening of Damien's fingers and the minute squirm he gave.

The Devil's son had known he liked when Pip challenged him and displayed rare moments of awesomeness, but this was a bit unexpected even to him. He liked letting Pip be romantically forward. In this moment, he, the defiant, self-serving Hellspawn liked...being submissive. Wow.

Eagerly, he encouraged more pressure by wontonly kissing back, rolling with what felt good. He was so happy right now. He wanted Pip to confirm his feelings, assure him, smother him in affirmative affection.

Pip felt the way Damien melted in his arms, begging with his lips for more contact. It was precious. It sent a swell of melting heat up through Pip's own chest and he hugged the other boy tighter. Being kissed back was amazing as well. As their lips found synchronization, the angel reveled in this new sensation to him. This loving and desirous gesture informing him that he was _wanted._ That was a glorious feeling, being wanted. If he thought about simply that he might tear up again, but doing so would probably spoil the moment.

Instead, Pip focused on the pleasant tingles building inside his body. They were swarming steadily and dizzying him in the most fascinating of ways. He too became eager and bore down on the boy in his arms, bending over him and kissing with vigor. One hand cupped the base of Damien's skull and gripped through some of the hair there. Damien let out another approving waver.

The Dark One was getting plenty chance to experience the sensation of Pip's lips now. He was glad that the blonde took to it eventually and released his passions appropriately. As he received this growing assault, Damien felt as though his face was made of the lava running throughout his homeland. He loved when Pip moved to touch him tenderly and found himself wanting more. He pushed Pip's second forearm, making the angel's hand slide to caress his rear.

Pip gasped, both from how inappropriate a place Damien had just insisted he touch and how unstable he noted this hold was for two flying boys. Quickly, Pip flew forward, knocking the pair against a giant stalactite dangling from Hell's ceiling. That way he could at least ensure Damien some added support due to friction.

However, that thought was quickly blown out of the water when, as he was pushed up against the stone structure, Damien's head rolled back and a sound that made Pip's eyes wide escaped his throat. An elated, hard and breathy sound. Pip...didn't know what to do with that sound. It nestled deep inside his gut and branched a spark even lower.

Then the look Damien gave him. It was a weighty look, forming into an eager, devious, lop-sided grin. The devil child had hardly expected a move like _that, _and his thoughts were not on safety. "You _are _naughtier than you look, aren't you~?"

It caught up with Pip just how his action must have seemed, and indeed now he noticed how firmly his lower hand was sandwiched between rock and Damien's bottom. Unintentionally he seemed to have done something good, however. He chuckled nervously. "I suppose I am without even realizing it." Damien's reaction had stunned him, but it also settled into some form of Pip wanting to hear that strange call again.

Letting a small smile spread on his own lips, the Brit leaned in and asked a bit coyly, "You like a bit of roughing up too, then, do you?"

Damien gave a low chuckle. "Probably more than you do," he responded, and craned his neck to demand a return to the kiss that had been broken off, hands tugging at Pip's arm and lapel again. Heated, his tongue slipped out now, almost of its own accord, and lapped at Pip's lips in asking the other muscle to play. He couldn't know for sure how hard he liked anything, but considering he was a demon who liked to indulge himself he could only guess, and he certainly liked what was being given to him.

Pip felt a fresh wave of heat wash over his face and spread downward. Dear God, Damien was an impish one. Enticingly so. The dark-haired boy continued to demand his touch in unsavory places and now was seeking quite an intimate kiss for merely the third time their lips were together. Clearly not a believer in taking things slow. Pip couldn't help succumbing to the pleads, either. He found his affection-starved self longing to deliver and get back his partner's gratitude in even more physical responses.

He let his lips part and cautiously poked his tongue out at first. It felt odd for a moment, feeling a matching hot muscle against his and tasting another so deeply. But at the same time it was a whole new level of addicting, making him want to push further. Within seconds the light, smoky taste of the Hellspawn he held was impossible to get enough of, and Pip attacked those lips feverishly. His hand had started clawing on its own, automatically kneading the other boy's hindquarters as he seared their mouths together.

This Damien heartily approved. He let Pip take over guiding their kiss now that he seemed to have gained confidence enough to accept the repeated invitations he'd been given. Damien melted all over again, granting more desirous sounds that mixed with the hums and sighs escaping Pip the more he let himself go and delivered Damien his affection. He hesitated less and less, grabbing the boy in black with abandon and soon using his entire body to press his new boyfriend against that rough slab of rock.

That was such an exciting thought, boyfriend. Someone wanted to be _his. _Damien was _Pip's _now. They could do this whenever they wanted. Damien wanted Pip to do it to him. Damien wanted to love him.

The next moment, it became clear just how carried away with his eager, hopeful thoughts Pip had become. As he pressed into the Unholy Child, a pressure was noted in his groin, and all at once he realized his member had grown stiff enough to dig quite rudely into Damien's navel.

Oh dear. Pip gasped to realize, nothing of the sort ever happening in reaction to a person before. His first instinct was to apologize, but before he could, Damien seemed to sense his desire to retreat and reached up to grab the back of Pip's head, insisting the kiss continue before hoisting himself up far enough to push his pelvis against the other's, revealing a digging stiffness of his own that now nudged at Pip's.

Pip whimpered now, taken off-guard by Damien's matching condition, and by the sharp jolt of pleasure feeling that stiffness dig into his.

"I was hard already. Took you long enough." The demon pulled back to say, though his lips still grazed Pip's. Pip's were dangling open as he panted, face completely red and eyes closed as he attempted to process this sensation and what he was being told. "Feels good, doesn't it? I'll milk your seed if you want." Boldly Damien reached between them and palmed the small tent in the angel's schoolboy shorts.

Pip gasped again, more contact sending an even better shot of pleasurable electricity up his spine, but as well feeling that Damien had just suggested crossing a very naughty barrier he wasn't sure he should be crossing.

"I-It feels very good, Damien..." he managed to fluster, "But I'm not sure what you mean."

"Have you never played with yourself?" the Prince of Darkness wondered, "Your seed is in there. It will come out if it's milked. And having someone do it for you is like the next level of kissing." As a creation of sin, Damien instinctually knew things like this, and as well since it got so boring while moping around by himself, he'd naturally explored his body. It didn't have much luster on his own, but now he really wanted to use his stiffness with Pip.

Embarrassed to talk about something so personal, Pip returned, "I-I've experienced this hardness at random intervals, but I've never gone so far as to accomplish that. The sensation has always gotten to be too much if I've ventured a curious poke at it."

So Pip had never been properly aroused by an outside source. He'd only gotten hard in the spontaneous ways that came with being male. Damien should not be surprised, but he would also hardly mind showing the other boy how worth it persistence could be.

"It ends up being a lot better if you keep going," he hushed enticingly, "It ends in the best kind of relief. Trust me."

The blonde boy felt his face redden all over again at that, though he still wasn't entirely certain why. Was it just because Damien was talking about doing things to his private parts? "I-It's not that I don't trust you, Damien," Pip assured, "Only...next level of kissing, you said? Are you quite sure we should be doing so much? That feels...big. This has already felt so big. And we've only just settled on being a couple."

Damien blinked. "You don't want to?" Upon hearing a yes, he'd been ready to jump into any and all things relationships entailed. Sure, maybe he hadn't planned on going so in-depth when picturing a kiss with Pip, but that hardly meant more was off the table. Then again, he'd vowed to be more considerate of Pip's feelings as well. He wouldn't push if he heard a no.

"Well, I-I didn't say that either," Pip flustered, making the other blink again. Being close to Damien made him feel very open to exploration. The problem was it was all so alien to the British boy. "It's just that...well, this is all so _new_..! Is it normal to be doing all this so fast? It's a lot to take in."

Damien shrugged. "It depends on the people. It's all up to you, really. Personally I'd _love _to suck the purity right out of you right now." He passed Pip a flirty smile.

Pip smiled nervously, certainly hot and bothered. All up to him, was it? He had to admit he was very curious. And Damien was still quite an appealing fellow. "Well, that might be a little difficult considering our precarious position..." he noted. Damien would likely fall if he tried any different position right now.

"If that's what you're worried about..." Damien tutted, and raised his arms to engulf them in one of his flame walls. As it vanished a second later, Pip found himself lying on his own bed back home, the other boy now framing his body with his limbs as Pip held him. "We can always move."

The blonde Brit felt his insides bubble with unfamiliar levels of intimacy as he registered the layout of this scene. His bedroom was comfortable territory, yes, and he felt that stiffness react against Damien's to be embracing him in such a way. His jaw was lightly slack as he stared with quickening breath, physically loving how close their bodies were, but also noticing how it felt very...adult. Did he like that? In a way, yes. It felt delightfully naughty, and yet his obedient nature gave him doubt.

"Th-there is also the factor that I'm only nine..." he pointed out, deciding to properly discuss his feelings before deciding something so important-sounding, "I was told seventeen was the appropriate age for sexual experimentation..?"

Damien's head tilted. "Phillip, you're dead. You're not going to get any older. Things work differently in the afterlife anyway. You're pretty free to experiment."

"O-Oh. Right." The angel kept forgetting that for some reason, acting as though he were still a living child. He agreed with Damien's views on mortal rules having no bearing on his actions, so he always felt very silly when he caught himself subconsciously thinking about things like growing up. This was no exception.

"The living children have done far worse than this, anyway," the demon boy brushed off, "And you can always learn to shift your form."

Pip blinked now. "Fair play," he granted. A fair few old school chums were weirdly sexually advanced. And if it really bothered him, he certainly could do something about his appearance. Learning more about angelic abilities would be for the future, though, and Damien was hovering over him right _now. _Pip felt his chest tighten as he felt the other's body heat and thought about throwing caution to the wind, just this once. Damien had said it was up to him. Damien had said he wanted to do this.

Eyelids lowering slightly as he felt his boldness growing, Pip ventured, "You won't just lose interest if I let you fool around with me, will you? I've heard that can happen."

The Son of Satan smirked. "I want you to claim me with your seed," he informed clearly, "I want it because you've made me so happy to say you'll be with me. Claim me, Phillip. Claim my interest for eternity."

The Brit's breath hitched in his throat. That was rather clear indeed. He felt a stir in his pants once more, and his inhibition flying out the window as his desire soared. Reaching up, he took hold of Damien's jaw in both hands. "Very well, then," he permitted, and tugged the black-souled boy down to crush their lips back together. This time no seconds were wasted in deepening it, and the young blonde's tingled as he felt one of those passionate calls of pleasured surprise vibrate its way into his mouth from Damien's.

Now that the angel was onboard for sure, Damien could let himself enjoy their moment to the fullest as well. His own elation soared to know that Pip felt strongly enough to want to sate their impulses. He let himself fall flush against Pip's instinctually arching body and rocked with need, adoring the friction between them and particularly against his length. The way Pip moaned back only created a thirst in Damien's throat, their voices mixing now and driving their spiking arousal.

Fast as ever, perhaps fearing slightly that the haloed boy would change his mind, Damien soon reached his hand back between them and grasped the small tent in those robin's egg shorts once more. He adored the sharp intake of breath as Pip tensed in reaction but did not fight him or break their kiss. It appeared the holy child really did trust him in this game. That made Damien glad. He wanted to make Pip feel good.

The demon boy's hand kneaded firmly, sending its adoration directly into that little rod his entire palm encompassed, but again impatient, this only lasted a moment before he broke the kiss himself and shuffled his own body lower. Now his hands dove to get those shorts open and down around Pip's ankles, exposing him quite readily.

Pip had in fact found the touch to be a pleasant one. More than pleasant, astounding. The way Damien touched him was much more meaningful and engulfing than he had ever done to himself. There was a distinct sense that he knew what he was doing by touching him like this. And it was heating Pip in an entirely new way, from his core and making him feel as though his crotch might be beginning to melt. It was overpowering, and yet he kept Damien's words in mind. It would end well. It was hardly unpleasant, per se, merely something Pip did not know what to do with. And so he moaned. He moaned and wriggled and crushed his eyes shut, accepting it but oddly not _wanting_ to resist. Damien's hand felt so different from his own, but perhaps that and the boldness of it made it that much easier to give in to the rising temperatures within.

When his shorts were yanked to free his pert member, the blonde gasped again, feeling his cheeks burn with the natural embarrassment of nudity, and yet he felt his knees knock sideways on autopilot, splaying his legs and lifting his hips like asking for more of what Damien was already giving him. There wasn't much time to consider his crotch being exposed as Damien's hand was back on that wanton rod, pumping away with clear intent now. A minute smile rested on his lips as he first watched the member he was working, taking some accomplishment from Pip's apparent excitement and how he was giving into it, and then looked up to see Pip's face.

"Again you act lewdly when you do not think. You _are _a dirty little angel~."

Pip felt those words nestle in his belly, bubbling hotly in a mix of shame and...flattery? It had hardly sounded like an insult. He realized he'd been shameless in offering his crotch so openly, and yet it sounded like Damien enjoyed this instinctual greed.

"P-Perhaps I am..." he speculated. He'd agreed to this in the first place. He was curious. He was kind of liking the way Damien ogled both his private parts and his face's reaction. It felt so intimate and wrong. With each second he was losing himself more to these alien sensations, however, and was glad he'd agreed. Wanted less and less to consider covering himself or shrinking away. This was a good kind of naughtiness.

Damien's smile widened. "Then you will love what is to come." God, Pip being so willing and dirty was more than he ever could have hoped for. If he continued to be that way, they would never have to worry about restraining their affections again.

Giving Pip only a second to ponder where this session was ending up, the little Hellspawn ducked his head, taking those couple of inches between the other boy's legs all the way into his mouth. His lips pressed flush to the skin of Pip's pelvis, tongue cradling the underside of that inexperienced stiffness. Only one second more was given for Pip to register this as he himself considered the taste – muskier than lips, but far more tender and still rife with the pure being's sweetness. Then he began sucking. Oh, he wanted that angel's seed so badly. He wanted himself to be the first thing it stained. There could not be a more meaningful way in his eyes to make their bond the utmost official.

The blonde's eyes had widened when Damien bowed. He really was about to get _quite _dirty if he seriously planned on putting his mouth –

"Ahhnn~hh~!"

Oh, Damien had planned it. Pip bucked into that much hotter, strangely slick cavern. Now he knew what the Unholy One had meant by the 'next level of kissing'! This was incredibly naughty! Pip knew it was a blowjob – he'd heard rumors of certain fifth graders giving them out – but he'd hardly ever been bold enough to think about receiving one!

Well, his meekness in life was of no concern now. He was quite vocal all of a sudden, craning his neck back into his mattress as the eruption of torrid arousal went off in his core, washing over all of his insides and blinding him as his eyes rolled back. Damien had certainly wasted no time or effort. He was moving his mouth actively, hungrily, and only seemed driven by Pip's increasingly breathy calls.

Soon his hand snaked upward, tunneling under the angelic boy's red schoolboy jacket and finding his right nipple to pinch.

"Haauuuuh~!" Another sharp vocalization and a beautiful arch from Pip. His head tilted tensely towards one shoulder and one hand flew to clutch at Damien's arm, the other going for Damien's scalp, fingers burying into that thick black mess of stiff locks.

Damien purred into the mouthful of erection he energetically suckled, tweaking his fingers again and eliciting another delicious cry from the one he serviced. Pip's clenched fists were all desire and heavily encouraging.

"Ouh~! D-Damien!" Pip gushed, shivering to feel the other's voice vibrate through his crotch, "This is far greater than I've ever felt myself indeed! It..! It's marvelous, yes, but so very overwhelming..! I don't know if I can – aaaahhhnnn~! I don't know if I can take it! But I want to!" He still trusted the other, but he had doubts in his own resilience. Still, Damien was more persistent. The Brit would do his best to make it until this grand ending that was alluded to. He was already so hot he could not imagine it being too far off. His crotch was feeling even more like liquid, yet also tight. He almost felt like he needed to pee extremely badly. Something felt like it was leaking out of him, but it did not bring that promised relief and hardly seemed to stop Damien.

Hearing his name called so passionately sent a fresh wave of blush to Damien's cheeks. In response to Pip's doubts he redoubled his efforts, assuring the other boy that he was doing just fine and that he could surely see his finish. He took the pre-cum as a glad sign and lapped eagerly at the angel's testes to give him an extra added bit of stimulation, hoping to coax their contents out.

Pip cried out in high pitch once again. By this point he was not hiding his enjoyment or holding himself back at all. He bucked desirously into every forward motion of Damien's mouth, wriggled under the pinching treatment and kneading ministrations of the Hellspawn's hands. After a mere couple of minutes being smothered in this relentless passionate attention, it almost hurt how strained his nethers were. Pip's breath was ragged, he was dizzy, and Damien was just starting to wonder if the angel as he was was unequipped to ejaculate properly when it happened.

"Ahhh~ohh~! J-Jiminy Christmas, Damien~!" It almost felt like Pip _had_ unleashed himself to pee inside Damien's mouth, and created a slight sense of embarrassment similar to when he'd wet the bed, but it was still a decidedly different feeling and the release of that coiled tension in his lower region sent another wash of blinding euphoria over the young angel. It was accompanied by the largest form of relief Pip had ever known, the two sensations mixing for a moment as he reflexively continued to thrust up between Damien's lips before the pleasure slowly began to ebb and an odd fatigue began to set in.

He hadn't cum a lot, but what there was to catch, Damien clamped his lips to ensnare. Pip was certainly not shy about calling out for him while aroused, which only aided the growing flame in the Dark Prince's chest. The angel's seed was salty-sweet and every bit as satisfying as he'd hoped. Only when he'd been sure he'd gotten all of the modest spurt did he finally let his mouth pop off of the spent member. He admired for a moment how slick and reddened it was with his work. His mouth was probably a little hotter than most.

Pip too took a second to take in the effect Damien's performance had had on him before glancing to meet the other boy's eyes. "You were right," he admitted, "Sticking it out really _does _seem to be worth it. That was...willikers, that was bloody brilliant."

"Good," Damien smirked, moving to crawl back up Pip's body. He took the wrist of the hand that had been on his head and moved it down to hover those fingers in front of his lips now. "Because we're not done yet."

"Ah, yes, I was just about to offer: would you like me to return the..." The young Brit trailed off as he registered the way Damien had taken his hand and was now inserting his first two of the angel's fingers into his mouth to suckle like he'd just been doing a lot lower. He sucked them much slower, and put a lot more focus on his tongue, but it was enough to stun Pip all over again and give him goosebumps. "Favor..."

The dark-haired boy's eyes were lusty and lidded lowly as he watched Pip's slack expression torn between puzzlement and a fresh bout of arousal. There was again no protest, Pip's breath seemingly having hitched in his throat and gotten stuck.

Only when he was sure he'd thoroughly wetted those fingers did Damien relinquish them, his encouraging smile unwavering as he informed, "You will return my favor, angel...but I want your vile purity inside me while you do~." Pip wasn't going to accomplish much with a spent member, but Damien wasn't done basking in the claim of ownership. He still wanted to enjoy how he hadn't been rejected and wanted Pip to prove how much he wanted him.

He was sure his hint was loud and clear, but even so he laid himself back and curled to remove his own pants with even less hesitation than Pip had displayed. Holding his thighs wide to present himself, he then passed the blonde boy an alluring, expectant beam between them.

Pip's throat was dry when he swallowed. Even when tender and submissive Damien had such a commanding presence. How could Pip deny him? Why would Pip _want _to deny him? He felt himself _wish _to take what he recognized as a dominant role over the authoritative boy. Pip was never in power. He wanted to prove he could be. He wanted to make the Prince of Hell his. He was sure they were both discovering an inclination to have things that way, though he was sure it wouldn't last and Damien would have plenty of inclination towards doing something like this to him.

Crawling forward to be the one bearing down on his partner now, Pip let his fingers reach cautiously to glide gingerly over the opening offered to him, watching it clench instinctually. A weak echo of the pressure in his pelvis rang. Gaze flicking to Damien's face as he gasped at the touch, the angel couldn't help asking, "Does it...feel good..? Having something in there?" He couldn't tell from just this reaction, but it had almost seemed like a wince? As well, he was curious to know more for when the tables would inevitably be turned.

A long sigh to relax himself slipped from Damien's throat. "It does," he promised, "It just...takes a bit of getting used to. I've never had someone else do it." Of course this was just as different as having someone else touch your shaft.

Head tilting curiously as he faced the waiting hole, Pip felt he ought to help get his boyfriend more ready in that case. Damien had taken good care of him, and so he would like to make it feel as good as possible to have Pip's fingers inside him. Damien had used spit on the angel's digits, so it only made sense to use more. And since the devil child couldn't do it himself so far as Pip was aware...

"In that case, please, allow me to make the experience as best I can for you. I imagine a bit more lubricant down here would help things run smoothly." Without hesitation, he placed his own hands on Damien's thighs, spreading them even further as he bowed his head, taking even Damien off-guard.

"Uhn~!" The Hellborne boy could only suck in another pleasured breath and gawp as he watched Pip lean in and, without even a second thought, start licking his asshole. "Oh my _God, _you damn filthy angel, Phillip..."

A turned-on waver was unavoidable in Damien's voice, as were the blissful tremors going up his body. Pip had no idea just how dirty that action really was, did he? His instincts were just...kinky as Hell. If he hadn't been sure he wanted to love Pip before, Damien could not be more sure now. He was going to keep Pip. Keep him and work at this relationship and train those instincts and learn to love him enough to marry him. Of all the best friends he could have been given, this boy had to have been made for him.

"Don't mind me, Damien. Does it feel alright?" Pip had done plenty of unpleasant things for people he'd cared about, but this hardly registered as unpleasant. Dare he say, it sent his face burning all over again to put his tongue in such a mischievous place. It tasted deep and interesting and he would likely want to consider brushing his teeth when all was said and done, but nothing about it deterred the Brit. He licked again, noting the way the tight hole pulsed, as if attempting to draw the probing stranger in.

"Alright?" Damien echoed, "It feels _amazing _you clueless anjyeeAAAAahhhhaaa~!"

Pip believed it. Damien's spine craned just like his had with a mouth on his nethers when the haloed one made an attempt to push his tongue through that little ring of muscle. He had to suppress a giggle at how cute that helpless caterwaul cutting off Damien's biting remark had been. He worked his jaw to give the tight entrance some wet friction, only getting more entertaining open-air gushes and one very red-faced Son of Satan.

Fists twisted tightly in Pip's sheets, Damien both loved this and grew highly impatient very quickly. This unplanned delight was making him too horny to think straight. "Ahn~! Enough!" he burst at last, "I want you in me proper, Creature of Stench! I...uhn, please, Phillip..!"

That breathy plea sent another ghost of arousal running through Pip's nethers. He could tell Damien was getting antsy as well the more he resorted to name-calling, and finally even being nice. Pip took his cue and lifted his head. Damien's face was something to behold, completely hazy and saturated in want all directed at the boy between his legs. He was beautiful. Yes, Pip was sure more than ever that he found the Hellspawn attractive. He was lucky to have someone this special fall for him; someone that he could also call his best friend.

"Do continue to use that name, won't you? I quite appreciate it," was all he took time to note with some adoration. Hearing his name proper was so nice. Damien was so considerate to have begun using it, and Pip just had to let him know it meant something.

To sate Damien's urgency, Pip put both his wetted fingers to the boy's entrance and pressed in, assuming he had meant he wanted them both. Meanwhile he moved his mouth to lick up the length of the Dark One's pert, twitching erection and take that into his mouth as he'd seen demonstrated earlier.

"Haaaaaaaaaaahh~!" Damien's back arched incredibly tightly this time. He'd hardly expected both fingers at once, but he was not complaining. Chalk that up to some more hardcore intuition Pip had. The accompanying assault to his most sensitive nerves shook the pleasure center of Damien's mind. In this moment he was truly handing himself over to his newly-declared boyfriend, displaying a level of trust and enamor that he could never have imagined feeling elsewhere. Having that wonderfully filthy angel play with his body this way added so much spark to this bliss.

Then Pip moved those fingers.

All over again Damien felt himself rocked by waves of joy. He rocked himself with them, whining with need and informing the ceiling how damn good Phillip felt. The young angel was quite flattered, wondering if Damien had felt similar stirs within himself to hear his own name called. Whether or not, it was heavily encouraging to the blonde boy and his head bobbed with just as much vigor as the boy under him.

He took a page from Damien's book as well, letting his free hand roam the black-haired one's body, clawing or gripping underneath his stretchy, form-fitting sweater, and even taking a venture to play with Damien's nipples as he had Pip's. That got one more sharp cry to the air followed by a plea to do it harder. Pip obliged.

The Unholy Prince's skin had become well saturated under Pip's enthusiastic reciprocation. His fingers moved more and more freely and sank deeper until some spot inside Damien was struck that made the boy lose all semblance of volume control. He demanded it be struck over and over, Pip only happy to milk that good spot for all it was worth. He watched as Damien only turned hotter, driving him to work harder in turn. Damien felt hotter too. Far hotter than Pip had, but not uncomfortably so on the angel's lips. He did appear to gain an ember-like glow as he reached his apex, however.

Clearly delirious with rapture at that point, Damien could not think straight beyond shouts of "yes" and similar affirmations, and so did not have a warning once he was ready to cum. Pip could forgive that considering he hadn't thought to give one either. As Damien hit his edge, he seized up and his body jolted. He would then shudder as he emptied himself of far more seed than a human boy his age, for another part of being born an incarnation of sin was a few early developments alongside the natural instincts.

Pip wouldn't mind the amount, only seeing it fair to keep his mouth in place as Damien had done, but would be taken aback by the initial intensely hot jet of what almost felt like a burning pebble being shot down his gullet. His brow went up, but it made way for a more regularly-temperatured liquid which took Pip's attention. This tasted interesting too. A bit salty, a bit...smoky? With an odd consistency.

He had to take his mouth from the streaming organ before it was completely finished, fingers inside Damien going with him, but Damien didn't voice any complaint, already feeling spent and simply sucking in deep breaths under closed eyelids as he basked in the afterglow.

Fanning his tongue slightly, Pip looked at some of the remaining ejaculate pooling onto Damien's lower abdomen and blinked. There were some orange-ish, lava-like streaks in it. "Oh dear. Is that normal?" he couldn't help but utter.

"Hm?" Pushing his lazy eyelids open, Damien fought his way through the blissful cloud and sat up to look at what Pip was talking about. "Oh. Right. I probably should have mentioned I cum Hellsparks. My seed is demonically designed to eliminate any other, as well as dominate any fertile host. Sorry. I forgot. It's normal to me."

"Oh." That made sense, really, Damien being mostly demon himself. "Spicy."

Damien snorted that that was all the other had to say for what they'd just done. "You aren't going to lose interest and walk out on _me _now, are you..?" It was partially a joke, but also a genuine concern.

"What? Oh, goodness no..!" Pip chuckled, "Terribly sorry if I came off as rude, but that just caught me off-guard is all. I enjoyed that little game quite immensely, I must say. You certainly were right about it feeling good in the end, and in this moment I'm actually feeling quite close to you. I do hope I performed satisfactory for you as well?"

Now Damien's head tilted in a bit of endearment. Pip was right back to being his sweet old self. "You're perfect for me, Phillip."

The little angel sat up straighter with a big grin, knuckles eagerly together. "You mean it? Did I do a good job, really?" Praise was so rare! From any source!

The other chuckled fondly. "Do not make a prince repeat himself."

Pip giggled in turn and leaned to rest his head on Damien's shoulder, arms coming to wrap around the one he was against. He was just feeling so fuzzy and snuggly all of a sudden. Perhaps displaying intimacy such as next-level kisses really did bring pairs closer, even if they were just starting out. All Pip knew was that he did not regret his decision to enter this relationship, and he wouldn't mind exploring like this again.

Damien's eyes slid from side to side, not used to Pip being the forward one with this sweetness. After a moment, however, he realized he probably should have expected it from an angel after something as intimate as what they had done, and Pip was just accepting their new status as a couple. Damien should have no worries about that either. Pip had more than shown he wanted to be with him. He was free to hold Pip's hand as much as he wanted, and so much more.

With a soft smile, he tipped his head to rest on Pip's. His hand slithered out to grab hold of one on the British boy's lap. It still felt cozy in his.

As they sat just enjoying one another's company, Pip's halo suddenly began to ring and tremble, effectively knocking them out of their quiet moment. Damien grumbled while Pip blinked and pulled away from him, reaching up to remove said halo and answer it, putting the top half of it to his ear. "Hello..?"

One quick conversation later, during which Pip mostly responded with "yes, sir" or "no, sir", the little winged boy hung his halo back up and placed it over his head. Turning to Damien, who was questioning this silently with a quirked brow, Pip explained.

"It was God. He said, 'Yeah, hi, so, I heard you were getting gay with the anti-Christ now or something? That's sort of against the rules for angels – not the gay thing, the anti-Christ thing - so...you're banished to Hell now. Just wanted to let you know. Congratulations.'"

A beat.

"So I guess I'm a _Fallen_ Angel now! That works out nicely."

There was his answer regarding any consequences with God. It didn't exactly effect him, either. It just changed the label of his main residency. He already pretty much lived in Hell, so it ended up being a convenience more than anything. Now he and Damien belonged to the same domain.

"Huh." Damien didn't see it as a big deal either. It essentially did just boil down to a change in where Pip's mail got sent. He hadn't exactly been making use of his soul's salvation. He wasn't a high-ranking angel at all. "So then I am officially allowed to demand your kisses as much as I want."

He smirked. If Pip didn't belong to Heaven, he was no longer above Hell's prince in rank. And the Brit had admitted to liking when Damien got possessive. Playfully, the boy in black leaned in and puckered now to prove his point.

Out of consideration, Pip leaned his head back a small fraction. "Wouldn't that taste rather...shitty right now?" he polled, unable to think of a kinder way to put his reminder.

Damien blinked, but then his smirk was right back in place. "I don't _give_ a shit," he retorted, and leaned in more pointedly to steal Pip's lips. He lived in a cesspool of soul scum. A little taste of ass was not going to bother him.

The two fell to the sheets again, kissing and giggling jovially until Pip suggested they go and have a wash, pointing out that they were also late for teatime. He shrugged off the 'pleh' he was given at the suggestion of today's tea flavor – Damien would drink it.

While they drank, Pip also noticed the lack of homework and supplies indicating that Damien had skipped school. Damien had glanced around after this accusation, unable to come up with an excuse beyond "I just really wanted to see you" - an excuse he didn't want to have to use - and then dodged answering by shoving his cup out and asking for a refill. He would just take the scolding, thank you.

From there on out, things stayed essentially the same. Damien moved himself into Pip's home, but the two still studied, went out to play, followed events in South Park and watched terrible American television together. Pip took Damien up to Heaven to meet his parents, who were every bit as old-fashioned as Pip warned and had little more than even, judgemental stares to give when their son merrily declared he was dating the anti-Christ dangling off his arm. Damien was not afraid to get snuggly or openly declare Pip his property now that it was allowed, and Pip just giggled every time he got bold with kisses or wandering hands, parents present or no. Sometimes he'd take initiative as well. This all got a lot more measured stares, but at least the Pirrups didn't outright denounce their son for his choice in partner. Pip was a lot bubblier with him around, that was for sure, and that was probably worth it. Even Jesus checked in to follow up on how his advice to Damien had gone. He became a casual acquaintance. And, of course, a deep well of sexual exploration opened up to the boys.

Best of all, death wasn't lonely or boring anymore.

Cheesy as it was, Hell had become Heaven for both of them.


End file.
